An “invitation-like” design of a reportedly unofficial publication material announcing positive cases of COVID-19 at Cagayan de Oro is making the rounds on social media.
Several Filipinos are posting a supposed pubmat that announces seven “close contact relatives” of a 34-year-old female patient from Barangay Carmen had also allegedly tested positive of the virus.
The pubmat claimed that they underwent a swab test or a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test on June 13 and had their results available on June 15.
It also included the actions that were supposedly taken by the Cagayan de Oro-Health Emergency Management Section (CHO-HEMS) following the cases.
The pubmat went viral for its flowery designs on the border and the chic typeface used.
“Yung lima ang nag positive pero ang light sa pakiramdan ng announcement layout design. Parang may ikakasal,” a Facebook user who shared the post said.
“Parang invitation hahaha,” another online user commented.
The pubmat also made the rounds on Twitter over the weekend.
“Wedding invitation…. congrats po,” a Twitter user wrote with a series of heart-eyed emojis.
You are cordially invited to Miss Rona’s Philippine Tour pic.twitter.com/Px9GBxMy4h
— just sagittarius things (@scorsaguin) June 20, 2020
One online user claimed that the pubmat was not official and that it could only be a mock-up of a Filipino who tried to create a “unique” announcement related to COVID-19.
A look at the style of the pubmat of Northern Mindanao Medical Center, the hospital mentioned in the post, showed that it does not have a similar design. Instead, its pubmat has a uniform color scheme of green and yellow.
The “invitation-” like pubmat also cannot be found on any official pages.
A Google Image search also revealed that such a similar design template is being used for bridal shower invitations, among others.
However, the reported information about the 34-year-old positive case is verified.
Mindanao Daily reported that Barangay Carmen’s first positive case of COVID-19 was a 34-year-old is a resident of Dabatian Street. It added that the patient’s five family members also tested positive of the virus.
“The five cases were a 67 year-old male, a 33-year-old male, a 25 year old male and two other female members of the family. They are currently quarantined in isolation facility for positive cases,” the local digital news website reported on June 15.
Last week, a graphic of the Sagada Rural Health Unit also made waves online for its supposed rom-com-inspired design that announced the swab test results of its locals.
Filipino rom-coms usually use a similar typeface and light colors in their promotional materials.
The Sangguniang Kabataan of Barangay Lanot in Roxas City, Capiz, also released a graphic that eventually made its way to unofficial pages because of what some Filipinos called a “festive” look.
The announcement was not uploaded on the Facebook page of HMS Capiz, the agency whose logo appeared on the pubmat.
However, it made its way to unofficial pages where Filipinos claimed that it appeared as if it was announcing a “fiesta” or a festivity because of the typeface and the bright colors used.